2018 Nominee Watch – July 13th

It's time for yet another Dwayne Johnson action flick and the third in the line of Adam Sandler's Hotel Transylvania films.

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Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
It's Friday the Thirteenth, so what better way to celebrate than with a fun animated monster movie?

I generally enjoyed the first two films in this series, the first more than the second. The best news about this third installment is that the main voice talent returns intact. Sandler is back as Dracula with Selena Gomez playing his daughter Mavis and Andy Samberg as his human son-in-law Johnny.

This time we take a trip away from the hotel and find our merry band of monsters enjoying a cruise. There will surely be plenty of laughs but the story looks to take a turn when the ship's captain is none other than a descendant of Dracula's nemsis, Van Helsing.

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I have a feeling I will be seeing this film very soon, and many times over once it comes digital/blu-ray. I'm hoping it will live up to the other two and provide consistent laughs with each viewing.

In terms of Oscar potential, neither of the first two films received any nominations and I don't see one here, but will list is as an outside possibility for a Best Animated Feature nomination, depending on what else we see through the rest of the year.

Skyscraper
Dwayne Johnson is back once again, flexing his muscles and saving the day in a film that looks like a cross between the original Die Hard and Towering Inferno. Brought in to check the security of the world's tallest building, he quickly finds his family in desperate need of his help and must do typical Dwayne Johnson things.

The catch here seems to be that the filmmakers have added the twist of Johnson's character being an amputee with only one leg. It is great to see a hero being played by Johnson like this, but I can't help but wonder if this decision was made for purely visual reasons, especially given the focus on Johnson dangling from a rope by his prosthetic in many of the trailers.

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As noted, I feel like I've seen this film before. Johnson is surely a bankable star, proving his worth in such recent remakes or revivals as Jumanji, Baywatch, and joining the ever expanding cast of the Fast and the Furious franchise. That being said, I sincerely hope we don't get a corny version of John McClane's famous "yippee-ki-yay line" from Die Hard.

In terms of Oscars, don't expect to see this at the ceremony next year, except in the visual effects, sound editing, or sound mixing categories.

Limited Releases

• ​7 Splinters in Time – Science fiction film that explores the relationship between a man and his alternate selves through time.
• Dark Money – Documentary about the influence of money on politics.
• Davi's Way – Documentary following actor Robert Davi (The Goonies, Die Hard) as he attempts to recreate Frank Sinatra's main event at Madison Square Garden.
• The Devil's Doorway – Horror film about asylums in Ireland in the 1960s where a pair of priests were sent to investigate strange happenings.
• Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot – Jonah Hill and Joaquin Phoenix star in a biopic about John Callahan exploring art after a life-changing accident.
• Eight Grade – A young girl exploring the difficulties of surviving eighth grade.
• Gauguin – Vincent Cassel takes on the role of the French painter as he journeys to Tahiti in search of new subjects for his art.
• How to Make Love to a Woman – Re-release of a  2010 comedy.
• Poor Boy – Michael Shannon stars in a film about two brothers chasing their dreams in the desert so they can venture off to California
  
• Shock and Awe – An all-star cast including James Marsden, Jessica Bile, Woody Harrelson, Milla Jovovich, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rob Reiner about the run-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

• Siberia – Keanu Reeves journeys to Russia in search of his missing diamond trading partner.
• Soorma – Indian film about a field hockey player.
• What Will People Say – Story of a Pakistani girl living in Norway who's life spirals out of control when her father catches her in bed with her boyfriend.
  
• No Date, No Signature – A doctor fights with the realization that an accident he cause may have led to the death of a young boy. (July 18th)